Inquisition, A Demon's Game
Inquisition, A Demon's Game Act I Midnight Slaughter, The Hunt is on! The air is restless within Hueco Mundo. Lying within the white sands within the ever present midnight sky of the world of Hollows, a battle had occurred of high proportions. Clashes of Spiritual Pressures distorted the atmosphere, Spiritual Energy flailed like ribbons of a fantastic light show put on display for the starless sky of the cursed realm. Incredible detonations discharged high pillars of energy and pale gray sand, showing significant signs of power struggles within the night as the opposing forces converged. This became a constant scene for the next hour, as cries of war and agony rang throughout the desert plains, as bodies of indiscernable Arrancars flew into the sand either totally, or created craters, leaving them partially exposed on the surface as blood and broken, mangled bodies of their once proud forms began twitching, moaning, and coughing to their last breaths. The form of the attacker's leader began taking measured steps forward, the jingle of a released Zanpakuto rang within his grip as he walked up to a haggard breathing Arrancar. Her hair was matted with sweat and her body bruised, bled, and scratched from her intensive encounter with her opponents. As she raised a venomously rebellious gaze towards the leader of the group of opponents, she asked in a guttural tone, "Who...are you..?! I demand to know why you attacked us without provocation!" "You know a certain person who dwells within Hueco Mundo," he asked, speaking for the first time since they're ambush upon her party of followers and herself, "Herrera Tresckow. We need to know where he is so he can be dealt with accordingly. Whether its violence or peace is not ''of your concern. The location for him, ''does." Rana spit upon the ground as she raised her Zanpakuto with defiance with a shaky, sure grasp, "I will tell you nothing, you abominations! I'd rather fuck off with a Soul Reaper than make nice with the likes of your kind!" "Is that really your final answer?" Ryūketsu asked back, raising his Zanpakuto up in a angle from his slack casual arms, his eyes stoically gave off an unnerving calmness about him. His other companions gathered, in a semi-circle they flanked any chance of her breaking off and disappearing, also showing despite her power, she couldn't possibly survive in a straight up fight against these intruders. She bit her lip till it drew blood, before she wide-eyed glared at him. She had her answer... "FUCK Y-!" SHINK-SPLURCH! "-ou, nghmn....gak!" Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise, her pupils dilated with horror as she looked down and saw three protruding spikes from her chest, as the metal of a trident had thrust into her from behind. Ryūketsu immediately took to a kneeling stance, as well as the other brethren as he spoke aloud, "Master Shiyōnin!" "Relax," the human-appearing entity spoke, whispering uncomfortably warm breath across Rana's twitching face, his red eye glowed eerily with the kanji symbol as his blue eye narrowed with pleasure, "I won't kill you....Rana Zolinder. Your talents would be so much better suited for me...than pointless revenge that's consumed your body and mind." Rana's face got a sideglance of his red eye, seeing it shift oddly with Japanese kanji characters. The one it landed on was a 二 character, before he whispered, "Come to me...and be mine. Body, mind, and soul!" What followed was a incredible pillar of red light of sinister pressure enveloping Rana from the inside out, causing her to let out the most horrified, guttural scream throughout the omnipresent night sky of Hueco Mundo. Yashin smiled as the crimson light enveloped her wholly, and his eye flickered with a sudden knowing, "I know where you are...Herrera Tresckow." Rana's scream echoed in the mind of an Arrancar far away from the site of battle. The Arrancar's eyes snapped open, though his expression showed no concern that an Arrancar was suffering. He surveyed the room around him, which is empty except for himself, then rose from the throne he sat on. Through the use of , Herrera Tresckow knew that there was a group roaming around Hueco Mundo, causing trouble for the hollows inhabiting the realm. However, he isn't sure who they are or why they are here. The only conclusion Herrera could come up with, is a Soul Society-sponsored invasion. In any case, there is no reason to go after them with current information. "Lord Herrera, is something wrong?" a female Arrancar entered the hall, questioning the warlord as she entered. "Nothing troubles me, Luccia," Herrera reassured his subordinate. "The men may get the most fun they had in ages, that's all." Luccia smiled at the words, knowing very well how bored Herrera's army had been with no one, other than themselves, to fight. Herrera had been considering purposefully starting open conflict to keep his soldiers happy and take the risks associated with it. But the introduction of this new group changed Herrera's plans. Luccia knew that anxiety was far from what Herrera was feeling. He was impatient, but not in the typical sense; Herrera doesn't rush what should not be rushed. Herrera wanted this storm to come to him, so that he can receive it with his sword drawn. The warlord contemplated the situation. Rana Zolinder's band has been eliminated. Herrera expected Zolinder to fall, though not by this unknown band of warriors. Interesting, to say the very least. It was only a few minutes after the pillar of light had consumed Rana and the screams had become silent. As he retrieved his trident from her body, the scars remained but immediately began to close over, healing over the poisoned wound as if to ensure the "infection" would stay strong. Resting his trident on the pale dune he resided on, Yashin looked to the horizon, his eyes narrowed towards the area he remembered where Herrera hid his troops. His hair and coat billowed as a sudden wind swept over the sands, a howling echo traversed throughout the land that had bore both death and corruption where the entity had stepped upon. "Master Shiyōnin," Ryūketsu spoke aloud, as he dared only to approach a few meters from behind, his own black and red cloak flourished around his youthful appearance, a hood drawn over his face to hide his features, "what is your orders?" "We shall go meet Herrera," Yashin said with a thin smile, his tone cool and without falter, even placating a small throaty chuckle, "its been a long time coming." "What if he decides to react with violence?" "Then we shall meet him in such kind," the leader spoke without hesitation, having already thought the possibilities that Herrera would respond with, "after all. I wouldn't expect any less from him. Expect to deal with his army...hold nothing back, Ryūketsu," he looked back with a chilling smile with his red eye glowing eerily offsetting from his blue eye, "I want anyone who stands in our way to be nothing but trash, left for the scavengers of this damned world!" "As you wish," Ryūketsu bowed, before finishing, "my Master." As soon as it came time, they all left without a trace, leaving all that was there...well, almost everything... The forms moved with incredible speed, approaching the enclave and territory of Herrera's with a singular purpose. Nothing would stand in their way. Not Hollows and not Herrera's personal army. They would wipe out anything that stood in their path with no exceptions... As they all stopped with a series of flickering forms and cascading buzzing static sounds, they overlooked the ruined structures that made up Herrera's base, as well as the many Spiritual Pressures that contained that of Herrera's army itself. "Go visit them, Ryūketsu," Yashin spoke before his form disappeared, whispering as his presence began vanishing altogether, "I'm counting on you..." "Of course, Master," he said with a bowed head of reverence to his superior. He then looked over his own comrades, the Hantā, each of them individually skilled in battle that would make them a match in of themselves. Then there was the new ally they allowed to come along, its form tall and covered in a dark red, black bordered cloak that hid most of its form and presence, "stay close to me, all of you. We want to strike them when they even blink the wrong way, but appear in force as well." With silent inclination, all of the Hantā began walking casually, purposely towards Herrera's enclave, all of them bearing the Spiritual Pressures unlike any being would ever sense. All of which would be considered on leagues of their own. At the very least, it would ferret out the border patrols involving Herrera's security... The Hantā's lack of effort to conceal their approach only made it easy for the hollow army to prepare themselves. The patrols were recalled to rendezvous with the rest of the army. Activity picked up quickly as the eager hollows moved to the outer walls of their fortress, Las Noches. Herrera stepped to the balcony that overlooked the front entrance of Las Noches. Given how boldly these unknown men approached, it was not unreasonable to assume that they would knock on the front door. He could sense them approaching quickly and did what he had been doing the past minutes: waiting. The Arrancar warlord could feel his pulse beating heavily and hear his own breathing. Herrera could barely contain his excitement, given how dull daily life in Hueco Mundo typically was. He imagined that the invaders were shinigami, himself cutting through them like paper. On second thought, no. Tearing them to pieces like paper was too quick, too easy, and too boring. As the Hantā came within a mere fifty meters from the walls of Las Noches, they all halted at once within the synonymous raise of Ryūketsu's hand. Ryūketsu admired the resiliency of Las Noches' structure as much of the damage done to it within the decades left behind by Sosuke Aizen's war made it a truly remarkable and impressive work of architecture. As a howling wind swept around the walls of the castle and the omninous group of individuals standing before the castle walls, Ryūketsu spoke, "We are here to speak to you, Herrera Tresckow! Will you allow us to converse with you, or are we wasting our time?" Those words were met with silence, as Herrera used pesquisa to determine what he was up against. They resembled nothing that Herrera seen before, which brought up a pressing issue: the warlord had no idea why they are here. Herrera stepped onto the air, making himself known to the intruders. "What do you want?" Herrera asked, resting his claw hand on the hilt of his zanpakutō. Given that he could not readily draw the weapon with his pointed extremity, it was a sign of peaceful intentions. "If you come down and speak to us in person, then perhaps we'll tell you. If not, then I'll leave, for I have no desire to raise my voice towards such a grandure structure you reside in," Ryūketsu said eloquently, his cloak flourished around him like a combination of smoke and water, but maintained a solid apparel across his body. He knew now that it was up to Herrera if he had a desire to converse with total strangers from another world or if he'd rather destroy them where they stood. "You come within my domain uninvited, without introductions, and here you are, setting terms to a discussion that I do not know the topic to," Herrera answered, with great annoyance. He was not about to strike down the strangers before him, but they clearly have no respect for Herrera. It was pure arrogance. "I'm quite comfortable where I am. If you have any will to speak with me on behalf of your master, you should begin already," the arrancar warlord continued. "We wish to propose an alliance with you, Herrera," Ryūketsu spoke plainly, his eyes staring high up towards Herrera's form, "and possibly attain mutual goals through this military coexistence." "Your kind isn't very well known in Hueco Mundo. You haven't even introduced yourself. How am I to know that this alliance is for mutual gain and not to further your master's own ambitions?" Herrera asked. His annoyance has not faded at all, given this messenger's habit of being politically rude. "We are known as the Hantā, Lord Herrera," he spoke plainly and honestly, knowing anymore verbal dancing would only serve to agitate the Arrancar leader, "and our Master wishes to spread his influence over Hueco Mundo and beyond, advancing his own power to the farthest reaches even past the Soul Society." "If complete dominion of the multiverse is your master's ambition, what is in it for me?" Herrera asked. "I'm already at the pinnacle of power in this dimension." "Your continued reign over Hueco Mundo of course," Ryūketsu said with a slight smile, folding his arms across his chest as he continued, "as well as avoiding any unnecessary conflict that would topple that peak you stand so fondly on. No more, no less." Herrera chuckled, turning his head to the side in thought. It was an interesting proposal, though there was an obvious footnote to this alliance. He would become a subordinate and a king is no one's lackey. "You can tell your master that I have no interest in becoming his dog," Herrera proclaimed. "I will not hear any more of this, unless the terms of this alliance are changed." "Our master has no wish to rule your wasteland of a world, Herrera," Ryūketsu spoke with a tingue of amusement towards Herrera's response, "but if you truly have no desire to ally with us, please tell us so, so we can make appropiate measures not to trouble ourselves with bothering with the likes of you again." "Then do so," Herrera answered, crossing his arms. He was getting fed up with this messenger: going so far as to call his realm a wasteland. Of course, it was not a paradise for weaklings; Hueco Mundo exemplified survival in its most basic form. Ryūketsu sighed, before looking behind himself, whispering lowly, "You heard him...let's make sure we don't have to deal with his ilk again." The first cloaked figure took a few steps forward, till it passed him by, being easily one of the tallest and most humanoid of the figures. There was a faint biting sound heard when the figure raised its hand into its hooded visage, before revealing a bleeding thumb as it aimed towards wall where Herrera stood upon. There was a faint hum, a iconic revving of condensed spiritual energy into a sphere. But then, the blood that rested wetly on the pierced thumb began to mingle with the energy, turning it into something distorted and violent. The sphere grew to a size that dwarfed it, expanding to the size of four men, its wild blue electric and razor appearance began shaking the very air as it primed to its maximum potential. It was no ordinary Cero. "Gran Rey Cero!" The figure, now feminine by voice and stature, discharged the violent razor-appearing Cero, sending it wildly towards the base of the fortress' wall while it seemed to distort the very fabric of space/time within its vicinity. Then, it struck the wall... SPRRRRRRREEEEEECRRRRVROOOOOMMMM... All of the pale wall's mass began to contort on a large radius, the entire spiritron structure began to cascade and ripple violently, as it stretched to a great length and distance to all sides of the fortress'. Then, as it all pulled into the dark blue singularity... ...RRRIIIIP-BOOOOOOOOM!!! The entiriety of the facing wall exploded into a large energized explosion, the pillar stretching from one end of Las Noches' "tower" to the other, its massive power and destructive force was enough to decimate any or all of Herrera's forces standing upon the wall. Herrera sniffed at the gran rey cero as it whizzed by, unflinching as it struck Las Noches. In the back of his mind, he knew that something similar would happen. They did eradicate another arrancar group instead of forcing them to submit, after all. He casually looked over his shoulder for a moment to survey the damage, drawing his zanpakutō in the meantime. "Predictable," he muttered. The warlord took a step forward, disappearing at the signature hum of sonido, reappearing before Ryūketsu as he thrusted with his zanpakutō, to force the Hanta into action. A grin was plastered on Herrera's face as he looked at the Hanta messenger in the eye, inviting death. War cries echoed as Herrera's men jumped into action, charging into the action with glee. Many were battle-hardened veterans: there were few enemies capable of quickly overwhelming them, especially if they attacked in numbers. Luccia herself entered the action, drawing her own zanpakutō and engaging the nearest Hanta. Ryūketsu drew his Zanpakuto fluidly upon the sudden arrival of Herrera, dispassionately unsheathing his blade in a smooth parrying maneuver, his blade sparked against his Arrancar counterpart's with a violent singing sound of metal, "You're the one...who is completely predictable, Herrera," he whispered before expertly swinging his blade in a series of thrusts and slashes, intending on ferreting out Herrera's complete focus on the battle between him and him alone. As the mass of Herrera's men roared out, at least, the ones who weren't caught in the incredible blast just launched prior to the declaration of war, the cloaked figures moved into action. A shorter one, leaped backwards and in the air, while spreading its hands over the area, like a concerto of a grand orchestra. A series of elongated blue lines, connected by bright lights resembling stars, before forming a massive astrologically crafted beast. "Fenix Missilium!" With a command, he formed a fiery phoenix that spanned a good ten meters in wingspan from each end, before it screamed out towards the veteran warriors. As soon as it collided with the experienced warriors, it detonated into a incredibly lethal firebomb, hot enough to sear through even some of their most resilient Hierro. The largest cloaked figures, leaped towards them, a axe slid into view in its meaty hand, massive in scope and size in comparison to its own size. It swung with a incredible surge of strength, clashing against the Arrancars' blades and sending many of the lesser scattered across the air and ground as it charged to meet them. Nearby it, was a lithe shaped cloaked figure, moving at incredible speeds with blades that extended behing the cloak sleeves swiftly moving in sync with its largest bestial compatriot while providing openings for itself and vice versa to strike its opponents. Another of them, one with a Zanpakuto if its own swiftly engaged the enemies, using fluid and experienced swordsmanship to engage Herrera's men, acrobatically and smoothly fighting toe to toe with the veteran warriors with ease, while swinging a peculiar transparent iron whip of chains. Meanwhile, the one who fired the Gran Rey Cero, lunged at Luccia, swinging a deftly placed and powerful shin kick to her gut while swinging a rapier Zanpakuto towards her neck in a graceful, deadly employed maneuver, intending on either incapacitating her or beheading her. However, Luccia responded differently. Her instinct told her to crouch as the other lunged, making it unlikely that both attacks would strike her effectively. A quick twist of the wrist brought the edge of her zanpakutō against the kick aimed at her. She rose to her feet as she made an upper-cut with her blade, a lightning fast motion, followed by another wrist motion to turn the edge of her sword downward. Her second attack was aimed to cut the Hanta completely in half, from neck to opposing waist. Although some quickly fell to the Hanta's techniques, Herrera's Arrancars and Hollows remained resilient. One of the burly Arrancars noticed the axe-wielding Hanta and quickly engaged the other with his greatsword. The clashes of weapons echoed like a hammer tempering blade. Although they usually favored single combat, Herrera's army were practically clamoring over themselves trying to kill as many of the intruders as possible, swinging their weapons at the nearest enemies. The fortune of boredom. Herrera attacked and parried on even terms with Ryūketsu. He waited patiently for the right moment to reach out and grab the Hanta's blade with his clawed hand, gripping it tightly as the arrancar lord charged. Sparks flew as metal slid upon metal, making a nerve-wrecking screech. Herrera's blade came down in a vertical chop, deliberately aimed to either maul Ryūketsu's body or completely sever the Hanta's limbs. Category:Collaborations by Lavi